Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Week 12

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 14-game Tournament is
officially underway. Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Yale jumped into
the mix with their first Ivy League games of the season, one week
after Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Princeton saw their first
conference action.

For Brown, senior Sheila Dixon’s 18th point
of the game proved to be the gamewinner, as she hit a free throw
with 0.1 seconds remaining to give her team a win in its Ivy opener
for the first time since the 2009-10 season, when it defeated Yale,
60-56.

The victory capped a 2-0 week for the Bears, who also took down
NJIT, 53-51, also on a last second basket. Sophomore Sophie
Bikofsky hit the gamewinning jumper with 3.5 seconds
remaining in the contest off an assist from junior Lauren
Clarke. Bikofsky finished with 10 points and seven
rebounds in the game. Yale had three players score in
double-figures, led by sophomore Sarah Halejian,
who tallied 14 points

Cornell received a combined 33 points, 21 rebounds and five steals
from senior Clare Fitzpatrick and junior
Allyson DiMagno en route to its 14-point win over
Columbia. The Lions were led by senior Brittany
Simmons, who set career-highs in points (18) and steals
(eight). Her steals total is also an Ivy League single-game high
this season.

The Ivy League went 2-1 in non-conference action last week,
including Brown’s win over NJIT. Yale defeated Bryant, 78-65,
behind junior Amanda Tyson’s career-high 16
points. Senior Megan Vasquez averaged 10.5 points,
8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in Yale’s two games last week.
Penn fell to a Villanova squad that sits just outside of the Top
25, 48-44, despite 18 points from junior Alyssa
Baron.

CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Brown and Cornell each went undefeated on the week and won their
Ivy openers, thanks in large part to the play of Lauren
Clarke (Colts Neck, N.J.) and Allyson
DiMagno (Fairport, N.Y.), respectively.

Clarke averaged 17.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5
steals in the Bears’ two games, including her fourth 20-point
effort in their win over Yale, which ties her for the League-lead.
Clarke finished with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and
two steals and found Sophie Bikofsky for the
gamewinning jumper with 3.5 seconds remaining in Brown’s
53-51 win over NJIT, and then followed that with a game-high 20
points along with one rebound, five assists and one steal in
Brown’s 68-67 win over the Bulldogs.

Clarke earns her second career Player of the Week award and her
first of 2012-13, as she took home the honor on Jan. 23, 2012. It
also marks her third career Ivy League weekly award as she was
named Rookie of the Week on Dec. 13, 2010. She is the second Bear
to earn Player of the Week this season, joining senior
Lindsay Nickel, who received the award on Nov.
12.

Clarke's Statistics for the Week

MIN

FG-A

PCT

3FG-A

PCT

FT-A

PCT

REB

A

B

S

PTS

vs. NJIT

38

4-10

.400

3-4

.750

4-7

.571

3

3

0

2

15

at Yale

40

7-16

.438

1-7

.143

5-8

.625

1

5

0

1

20

TOTALS

39.0

11-26

.423

4-11

.364

9-15

.600

2.0

4.0

0.0

1.5

17.5

DiMagno recorded her League-leading seventh double-double in
Cornell’s 68-54 victory over Columbia. She continued her
torrid rebounding pace, grabbing 15 to move into the top-10 in
school history, while scoring 15 points. She shot 7-of-13 from the
floor (53.8 percent) and also recorded two steals.

DiMagno scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half, including
six during an 8-0 Big Red run that knotted the game at 32 apiece.
She earns her second Player of the Week award of the season (Dec.
3).

DiMagno's Statistics for the Week

MIN

FG-A

PCT

3FG-A

PCT

FT-A

PCT

REB

A

B

S

PTS

vs. Columbia

35

7-13

.538

0-1

.000

1-3

.333

15

0

0

2

15

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Penn fell to Villanova, 48-44, but it was not for lack of effort,
especially from freshman Keiera Ray (Aurora,
Ill.). Ray filled the box score, posting eight points, four
rebounds, four assists, two steals and just one turnover in 34
minutes at the point in the Quakers’ tough loss to the
Wildcats. Ray shot 4-of-8 from the floor (50.0 percent), including
a drive and layup that pulled Penn within two with 27.1 seconds
remaining. She takes home her second Rookie of the Week award (Dec.
24).

Ray's Statistics for the Week

MIN

FG-A

PCT

3FG-A

PCT

FT-A

PCT

REB

A

B

S

PTS

vs. Villanova

34

4-8

.500

0-0

.000

0-0

.000

4

4

0

2

8

Four games on the docket this week, including the final
non-conference contest of the 2012-13 season. Penn will host Temple
on Wednesday, followed by a trio of League matchups. Yale will
travel to face Brown on Friday, followed by Cornell at Columbia at
Harvard at Dartmouth on Saturday.